Eastern Accents, fabric producers sue Ashley
Staff -- Home Accents Today, 9/1/2006
Eastern Accents, American Silk Mills, Duralee Fabrics, Joan Fabrics, P. Kaufmann Fabrics, Quaker Fabric and Sunbury Textile Mills filed suit in U. S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina against Ashley Furniture Inds. and Southwestern Furniture of Wisconsin claiming the defendants have committed "unlawful and intentional copying and sales of copyrighted fabric designs, as well as deceptive trade practices constituting unfair competition."
The suit further states that the defendants' actions have caused and will continue to cause, irreparable harm to the plaintiffs, as well as significant monetary damages.
The suit states that Eastern Accents, a Chicago-based company that designs, produces and sells bedding products, among other things, has purchased fabrics relevant to this case in the fabric vendors' North Carolina showrooms. The fabric vendors are referred to collectively as Design Plaintiffs.
At press time, executives at Ashley had not responded to requests for comment.
The lawsuit cites 14 specific collections that allege "Ashley Knockoff Collections" along with several other collections in addition to using a photograph of an Eastern Accents' product on the packaging for the Ashley product. The package contained the Ashley product, the suit maintains. The suit states that "Ashley has copied no fewer than 14 copyrighted designs from the Design Plaintiffs, infringing on each Design Plaintiff's copyrights."
The suit cites the following copyrighted designs from the Design Plaintiffs as being "Ashley knockoffs": American Silk's #8722-1004, Terrapin and Vanderbilt; Duralee's Ashley; Joan's Trends, Rowayton, Eryn and 82 Alberta; P. Kaufmann's Rambling Rose, manufactured and marketed by its Bloomcraft division; Quaker's Miller Falls, Edinway (Oxford), and New Satin (Versailles); and Sunbury's Crowned Fleur and Carriage Ride.
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